To Study Local Palms
Dr. Liberty H. Bailey, noted autho-
rity on plants and former dean of the
Cornell University School of Agricul-
ture, embarked from Philadelphia Oc-
tober 21, alone at the age of 88, on a
trip through the West Indies and South
America to study the palms in the area
with a view to reclassifying them. In his
opinion, science has classified the palm
family poorly, and though he is of an
age when most men would relax into a
rocking chair, he set out to do some-
thing about it.
The first leg of Dr. Bailey's trip
brought him to Aruba where he stayed
for three days studying the various
types of palm trees. He said there were
nine different kinds here, none of them
native to the island.
After leaving Aruba, he went to Cu-
racao from where he plans to go to
Bonaire and then to Trinidad, carrying
on his work as he goes. Following this
he will make his way up the Amazon
River and work inland through the
jungle, hiring boats and other trans-
portation as he goes along.
Undaunted by his advancing years,
Dr. Bailey is planning several more
trips about the world, among them to
tropical Africa and Eurasia.

Some like lightning and some don't. Like it or not, it's a common part of Aruba life for two or three
months each year, when it flickers over Venezuela almost every night, and often moves over to
invade Aruba. For a closer look at what makes these displays so violent, see above, where
perhaps a million volts is crashing into the earth. The picture was taken from the lake tanker
"Temblador", as it left the La Salina loading dock in Lake Maracaibo.
Tin hende Cu tin miedo di lamper, tin cu no. Miedo of no, e ta algo comun na Aruba durante
dos o tres luna tur anja, ora u e ta lombra di Venezuela tur anochi y hopi biaha e ta Invad,
Aruba. E portret ta mustra efecto di podiser million volts ora e ta dal den tera. E portret
ta saka for di o tanker "Tembladon", ora cu e tabata small di dock di La Salina den Lago
di Maracaibo.

Council's Gift Received, AROUND THE PLANT
Red Cross Sends Thanks

The $1,500 recently sent by the Lago
Community Council to help victims of
the recent earthquake disaster in Santo
Domingo was a great help to the local
Red Cross in easing some of the suf-
fering caused by the catastrophe. This
news was received last month by A. S.
MacNutt, president of the Council,
from R. C. Home. president of Esso
Standard Oil S.A. (Caribbean), in the
Dominican Republic.
When reports of the earthquake
came, the Council thought that it might
be able to help the stricken people. A
cable was sent to Mr. Home asking his
advice as to the way in which money
donated would be most useful. His
reply suggested the Dominican Red
Cross and a check was immediately
sent.
When the gift arrived, Mr. Horne,
acting as agent for the Council, pre-
sented the check to Dr. Julio Pineyro,
president of the Dominican Red Cross.
Accompanying Mr. Horne was Linus G.
Harth, district manager for Esso Stan-
dard in Ciudad Trujillo and formerly of
the Light Oils Finishing Department
here in Aruba.
A few days later Mr. Home received
a letter from Dr. Pineyro expressing
his own and the Red Cross' deepest
thanks for the generous gift.

Publication Mailing Discontinued
After two and a half years of mail-
ing copies of the Aruba Esso News and
the Pan Aruban to employees on mili-
tary leave (and to the soldier-sons of
employees) the Lago Community Coun-
cil recently closed its books on this ac-
tivity after mailing out nearly 10,000
copies of the two publications. Credit
is due to Gerry Molloy of the Account-
ing Department, who first handled the
work when he was president of the
Council. Later, when he was no longer
on the Council, he continued to coordi-
nate the work with the assistance of
his office staff, using Council funds to
cover the cost of postage.
With a wartime maximum of 80 men
on the mailing list, the papers carried
news of Lago and Aruba to men station-
ed everywhere from Okinawa to the
Persian Gulf.

Upon receipt of news that his father
was ill in Cuba, Bernard Marquis, ship
operations clerk and newly appointed
Esso News reporter for the Marine
Department, left for Havana by plane
October 24 to spend a six-week long
vacation with his family. It will be the
first time he has seen them in 25 years.

Johannes Winklaar of the Dining
Hall is learning about Curacao all over
again these days. He is now back there
after a 27 years absence. Johannes and
Willem van Aanholt, also of the Dining
Hall, left Aruba in the atter part of
October to enjoy their vacations there.
With six and four weeks respectively
to spend in Curacao, the pair should
come back with their memories well
refreshed.

Drydock long vacations in November
include Federico Maduro, welder helper,
who left for six weeks November 1. On
the same day James Lovell of the pro-
pellor gang started eight weeks. Lau-
rencio Leest, a carpenter helper, leaves
November 11 for four weeks. Benedito
Geerman will leave his pile driver for
six weeks, starting on the 15th. On the
following day, welder George Lovell
will start his six weeks. Alvin De No-
briga, a welder, and Karel Ponson, a
sailmaker, will start eight weeks and
four weeks respectively November 18.

Winnie Romer of the Personnel De-
partment left for a four week vacation
in Caracas November 1, where she is
visiting her brother.

Woodward New Lago Director
At a meeting of the Lago Oil &
Transport Co. Board of Directors held
here October 8, J. W. Woodward,
marine manager, was elected a director
to fill the vacancy created by L. G.
Smith's transfer to New York.
Mr. Woodward started with the
Company at Bayonne in 1920, after
Army service in the first World War.
Several years ago he was in charge of
Standard's port operations in New
York Harbor. During the war he serv-
ed with the War Shipping Board for a
time as chief of tanker operations in
the Canal Zone area. He came to
Aruba December 28, 1945.

The next issue of the ARUBA ESSO NEWS will be distributed
Friday, November 29. All copy must reach the editor In
the Personnel building by Friday noon, November 22
Telephone 523

Printed by The Curagao Courant. Curacao, N.W.I.

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LIKE THE THREE BEARS of the nursery story, ideas
come in three sizes big, middle-sized, and little. The big
ideas naturally pay the best they are the ideas that
save the most money in improving operations, or that cor-
rect a most serious accident hazard.
But an idea doesn't have to be big to get a worthwhile
award. The middle-sized and little ideas don't do the big
things done by big ones, but they all combine to help create
an efficient, safe, and well-run refinery. And the little ones
receive the same careful attention given to the big ones.
Draw a bead on any of the three sizes and fire when
ready!

Whistling up and down the refinery's railroad tracks
right now is an idea that for a long time was ripe for the
picking, but no one ever picked it.
The locomotives are being painted a brilliant yellow for
better visibility. Before this, painted a dull grey, when they
crossed roads they were likely to blend into the grey stills
in the background, and were hard to see from an approach-
ing automobile. Now their bright yellow color makes them
easy to see.
The suggestion to paint them yellow came from the
Traffic Safety Committee only recently, after years of grey
paint. No employee ever suggested painting them yellow,
though it is plainly a good safety idea.
It is typical of the chance that any employee has to hit
on a good money-making suggestion. He need not be a
technical expert in oil-refining. Eyes wide open and a lively
mind are all it takes to "COIN YOUR IDEAS".

NEW ARRIVALS

A son, to Mr. and Mis. Otmand Chailes.
October 9.
A son, Richard Alan, to Mr. and Mrs. George
Mathews, October 9.
A daughter, Shutley Eileen, to MI. and Mrs.
James Kirton, October 10.
A daughter. Mitna Madalena, to Mr. and Mis.
Luis Winterdaal. October 13.
A son, Pedrito Eduardo. to Mr. and Mis.
Vicente Arends, October 13.
A daughter, Jean Agnes, to Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph Guy. October 13.
A son. Calixte Camillo, to Mr. and Mrs. Tho-
mas Emmanuel, October 14.
A son, Robert Clive. to Mr. and Mrs. Maiio
Cannegieter. October 14.
A son, John Zachaitag to Mr. and Mrs. Timo-
thy Campbell, October 14.
A daughter, Helen Jean, to Mr. and Mrs.
Robeit Motris. October 14:
A daughter. Zonia Eugenia. to Mr. and Mrs.
Emanuel Viea., October 15.
A daughter, Frlda Theresa, to Mr. and Mrs.
Baldomero Lacle. October 15.
A daughter. Norma Ursula, to Mr. and Mrs.
Herbert Blaize. October 15.
A daughter. Donna, to Mr. and Mrs. lHarly
Backus. October 16.
A daughter, Selma Leonie, to Mr. and Mrs.
Arthur Bailey, October 17.
A daughter, Shirley lona, to Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph Rogeis, October 17.
A daughter, Anatol Leopole, to Mr. and Mrs.
Sandford Scott, October 17.
A daughter. Agatha Rosa Maria, to Mr. and
Mrs. Laurence Barriteau. October 18.
A son, Franklin Harold, to Mr. and Mrs. Juan
Lacle. October 18
A son, Woodmorth Agustus, to Mr. and Mrs.
Edmund Cummings. October 18.
A daughter. Cornelia Ann, to Mr. and Mrs.
David Mortlock October 18.
A dauimhte, Janice Elcia. to Mr. and Mis.
Henry John, October 19.
A son, Pedro Nicolaas. to Mr. and Mrs. Al-
beito Besaril October 19.
A son. Leater Jeremiah, to Mr. and Mrs. Ena-
nuel Ashby, Octrber 20.
A daughter, Lenna Mentrude, to Mr. and Mrs.
John Caton. October 20.
A daughter. Nancy Caldwell. to Mr. and Mrs.
L. A. Pomeroy, October 20.
A daughter. Bonnie Lou. to Mr. and Mrs.
Fred Quiram, October 20.
A daughter. Martha Valeria Maria, to Dr. and
Mrs J. B M, Van Ogtrop. October 21.

To "monkey with"
anything means that
a person is taking a
foolish chance with
something that may
prove dangerous to
him or get him in
trouble. Monkeys are
always doing this
and the one in the
picture is no excep-
tion. He is "monkey-
ing with" his own
safety by carelessly
letting his tall
dangle near the jaws
of the alligator,
which will certainly
prove dangerous to
him. This is the
same kind of care-
lessness or "mon-
keying" that causes
accidents. Don't
monkey with danger
work safely.

The "Medal of Freedom", a special
medal instituted by President Truman,
was presented to Governor P. Kasteel
of Curagao October 29, for services ren-
dered the United States during the war.
It is only awarded for activities which
were helpful in connection with the
war.
The medal cannot be given to U.S.
citizens, unless they have performed
services outside the U.S. during the
war, nor can it be awarded to members
of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The presentation was made in behalf
of President Truman by Admiral W. R.
Munroe who, accompanied by his staff,
made a special trip to Curacao for the
occasion.

Home for Old People in Saba
Sponsored by Organization

The "White Yellow Cross", an orga-
nization similar to the Red Cross,
recently announced plans for the open-
ing of an old folks' home in the town
of Windwardside, Saba.
In a meeting October 8 at Windward-
side at the home of Rev. Father Bcr-
lage (until recently of Aruba) plans
were made to eliminate many of the
hardships endured by old people who
can no longer take care of themselves.
A building has been purchased to be
used as the home (it formerly belonged
to E. A. L. Hassell of the Training
Division) and work will soon begin to
put the place in condition for its new
occupants. Since the expense will be
considerable, the local board is request-
ing interested persons who are living
in Aruba and Curacao to aid by contri-
buting to the cau-e.
Present at the first meeting of the
local board were Father Berlage (pers-
ident), Harry L. Johnson (secretary),
Miss Rose Undine Johnson (treasurer),
Rev. F. Jensen, and Dr. J. Chocolaad.

Seaman's Club Director

To Publish Sea Story

Scheduled for publication sometime
after Christmas is a new book, The
Long Swim, by Richard C. Angell,
director of the United Seaman's Service
Club in San Nicolas.
The book is fiction based on an ac-
tual experience of Mr. Angell's in the
Mediterranean while he was in the Mer-
chant Marine during the war. The
particular incident covered concerns a
time when the author was swimming
near his ship at anchor and was swept
out to sea by the tide and given up as
lost by his shipmates. After struggling
to stay alive in the water for a day and
a half being carried nearly 50 miles
about the Mediterranean, he was wash-
ed up on a desert island and picked up
from there by a passing fisherman. The
book itself deals with the swimmers'
thoughts and emotional reactions while
he is in the water.
It is Mr. Angell's first attempt at
novel writing. He is, however, no
stranger to the writing profession, hav-
ing been employed by several news-
papers before the war.

John J. Winterbottom, marine ma-
nager here from November 1942 to
May, 1944, and now assistant manager
of the Marine Dept. in New York, was
a visitor here late last month. He was
accompanied by W. P. Wackrill of Lon-
don, general manager of the recently-
formed Esso Transportation Company,
and by M. Radom and C. deWitt of th2
New York office. After inspecting
marine operations at Lago, Messrs.
Winterbottom, Wackrill, and Radom
left for a survey of Venezuelan opera-
tions.
While here (October 29) Mr. Winter-
bottom celebrated his thirtieth anniver-
sary with the Company.

Happy smiles light the faces of Sylvester Francis
of the Pressure Stils and his bride, lae former
Maria Nicolaas of San Nicolas. The couple is
shown just after they were married at the
Church of St. Theresa October 17. A reception
followed the ceremony at the home of the
bride's parents.

DEATHS
Teolindo Flanegin of the Catalytic
Department, on October 16, at the age
of 28. He had been an employee for the
past six years and ten months. He is
survived by his wife and four children.

Semi-Monthly Payroll
October 16-31 Fri. November 8
November 1-15 Sat. November 23

Monthly Payroll
October 1-31 Sat. November 9

II

Mir

NOVEMBER 8, 1948

El_________ ..-- -La-a-_

ARUBA ESSO NEWS

Cuba's Eva Rodriquez whirled about the floor in the snappy movements of various Latin American
dances as she and her partners appeared before audiences in Aruba recently. Stopping here
during a trip through the area, the Cuban dancers are seen in these pictures as they performed
at the Lago Club October 11. In the upper picture Miss Rodriquez and partner Miguel Noda
swing their way through a Sanma. Below, she is seen in another Latin dance.
(Pictures by S. Rairoop and W. McDermett.)

Draw Ends King's Cup Series Surinam Team Plays Football
On Weekend Curacao Journev

Ex-Personnel Employee

Returns From Indies

Ewald Woiski, formerly of the Person-
nel Department, should know the
southwestern Pacific pretty well by
now. He returned to Aruba recently
with a good deal of travel in that area
behind him.
Ewald left Aruba for New York in
December, 1944, to enter the Nether-
lands Red Cross. He then went to Cali-
fornia, and from California, sailed for
Hollandia, New Guinea. There he
changed ships and went to Australia
where he stayed for a few days and
then travelled back to Hollandia to act
as an air transport officer attached to
the Netherlands Army.
After a seven-month stay at Hollan-
dia he moved down to Batavia, Java in
November, 1945. He remained in Bata-
via for a month and a half as medical
supply officer and later spent two and
a half months in Singapore getting
medical supplies together. Ewald then
went back to Batavia where he stayed
until August, 1946, when he came back
to Curacao via the Indian Ocean, up
through the Red Sea and the Suez
Canal, out through the Mediterranean
and across the Atlantic to New York.
Upon his arrival back in Curacao he
was demobilized. He doesn't know yet
what he will do in the near future.

Surinam Concert Artist

Presented by Art Circle

With a concert pianist last week, and
a renowned group of singers next week,
the Aruba Art Circle is doing outstand-
Ing work in bringing cultural features
to Aruba.
Their newest presentation takes place
Sunday, November 10, at 8:15 p.m.,
when the Fisk Jubilee Singers give a
program of negro spirituals and classi-
cal songs. The group includes five men
and one woman.

Music-lovers were highly enthusiastic
over the performance given October 29
by Majoie Hajari, a top-ranking con-
cert pianist from Surinam. Miss Hajari,
who studied at the Amsterdam Conser-
vatory, spent the war years in Holland,
only recently returning to Surinam. She
was brought here by the Surinam Club.
After further appearances in South
America, she plans to go to the United
States. In addition to customary con-
cert numbers her program includes
several of her own compositions based
on Hindu rhythms.

The Sociedad Bolivariana was the
scene of an art exhibit for ten days
last month, when the works of 12
Netherlands painters were shown. Se-
veral of the artists have paintings in
Holland's largest museums, and have
exhibited in the United States and
various places in Europe.

Harold James of Personnel left Octo-
ber 26 for his home in Dominica. He
has eight weeks to spend visiting his
family there. On the way he planned to
stop off at St. Marten, St. Kitts, and
Antigua.

Most people favor marrying young. and Ray.
mundo Feliciano, fourth-year apprentice, agrees
with most people. He was married October 31
to Elizabeth Croes at the Catholic Church
at Santa Cruz, with a reception after the cere-
mony. The couple will live in Ajo. At right,
Instructor C. R. Brul presents a cash gift from
his classmates October 28.
With a sizable check as a wedding gift, Berna-
dino Luydens' friends at the Colony Commissary
bid him the best of luck in his married life.
Bernadino and Margarita Arends were married
in the Church of the Sacred Heart at Savaneta
on October 31. Commissary supervisor Frank
Ciccarelli is making the presentation in the
picture below.
In the picture below at right, Richard Trimming-
ham receives from Hugh Mccibbon (and the
Foundry employees) a handsome vanity set as
a wedding gift. Richard married Viola Osborne
In Oraniestad October 30. A reception followed
at the couple's home.

With the playing to a draw of the
one-day championship cricket match
between the Cambridge C.C. XI and the
British Guiana C.C. XI at Lago Sport
Park on October 27, His Brittannic Ma-
jesty's Cup was still unclaimed. The
match ended at 189 for all for Cam-
bridge and 75 for 8 for British Guiana
at the close of play.
Starting at 11 o'clock in the morning
the Cambridge team batted first and
showed considerable strength, putting
several men in the double figure
column. By the time B.G.'s turn cam-
to bat it seemed doubtful whether they
could overcome the large lead that
Cambridge had amassed. Consequently
at the fall of the sixth wicket the B.G.
captain decided to play for a draw, and
by batting cautiously the team was able
to reach the close of play with two
wickets to go.
As a presentation match November 3,
the British Guiana team was pitted
against "the Rest" last Sunday, with
B.G. winning, 160 for 9 to 141 for all.
After the game, trophies honoring
the performances by individual players
du-ring the series were presented by
Asst. General Manager O. Mingus.
Highest batting average was William
Smith of the B.G. club; highest indivi-
dual score, H. Dalrymple of Dominica
C.C.; bowler taking most wickets,
C. Worrell of Cambridge; and best
bowling average, S. Spanner of St. Eus-
tatius. Since Cambridge declined to
play a match to break the tie of the
last game, a lien on the big cup was
awarded to British Guiana, and their
name goes on the Lago Shield.

Flying to Curaqao in a chartered
plane the weekend of October 12-13,
the Surinam football team played a
series of two matches against Curacao
teams. The Surinam team, composed of
Lago employees, played their first
match October 12 against Jong Cura-
cao and came through victorious to the
tune of a 2-1 score. But on the follow-
ing day the Surinamers were not as
successful, for their match with Jong
Holland (of Curacao) came out with
the Aruba boys on the short end of the
score, 3-1. Outstanding in both games
was Willem Echteld of the Training
Division.
After the final game, the visitors
were guests at a dance given in their
honor by the Curacao teams. The trip
ended Monday morning when the
players arrived back in Aruba in time
to go to work. The trip was arranged
by Henri Nassy of No. 3 Laboratory,
Ronald Abrahamsz of Accounting, and
Jim Leysner of Electrical.

Ricardo Van Blarcum, Esso News
reporter for the Colony Service Offices,
is planning a nine week vacation in
Colombia. He will leave Aruba by air
with his family for Barranquilla Novem-
ber 16, and travel from there to Medel-
lin and then on to Bogota. Later they
will return to Barranquilla, where Vito
went to school 22 years ago. After
seeing the December Olympiad, the
family will return to Aruba by way of
Maracaibo, La Guaira, and Curagao.

W HEN Aruba went to bed the
night of February 15, 1942, it expected
the usual good night's sleep. The war
in Europe was far away, and while
there had been a few ship-sinkings in
distant parts of the Caribbean, the U.S.
Army Air Forces had established squa-
drons of bombers and fighters that
patrolled regularly out of Dakota
Field.
The British troops, mostly veterans
of Dunkirk, had sailed away February
13, after the Berlin radio, which was
taking too personal (and accurate) an
interest in us, had announced the name
of their ship and the sailing date. Over
a thousand American troops had land-
ed February 11, and their big and little
guns, field telephone wires, search
lights, and big stockpiles of shells
beginning to appear in isolated places
were exciting and at the same time a
great comfort. The troops were still
setting up their equipment, but in a
few more days would be ready for
action. A practise blackout several
weeks before, checked by L. G. Smith
from the top of the Alky Plant tower
and by J. S. Harrison from a circling
plane, had been a big success, partly
because the main Colony switch was
pulled.
Bedded down at the Guest House was
General Frank Andrews (who later in
the war was lost when his plane was
shot down by a Messerschmidt near
Iceland). Accompanying the General on
his tour of Caribbean defenses were
newsreel photographers and journalists,
including Walter Davenport, one of
Collier's roving editors.

At 1:30 a.m. next morning, February
16, the reporters had an eye-witness
news story tley hadn't bargained for.
With a thundering explosion followed
immediately by flames rising a hundred
feet into the night sky, a torpedo
ploughed into the midships section of
the lake tanker "Pedernales", anchored
just off the reef. A few minutes later
the "Oranjestad", anchored several
hundred yards away, also took a tor-
pedo and appeared to dissolve into a
sheet of flame. Then tracer shells from
the submarine's deck gun began to
arch over the lagoon into the refinery
area and to the north of it.
As people were roused, lights popped
on all over the Colony, then were dous-
ed as switches were pulled. Cars began
to stream toward the waterfront, many
with lights on until the drivers realized
this was no accidental fire, but war.
One ship, the "Pedernales", gradually
drifted away, taking its lake of blazing
oil along with it. After nearly an hour
the "Oranjestad" sank where it was
anchored. (The spot was marked by an
oil slick for two or three years after-
wards.)

(A lucky ship was the "Hooiberg",
which had approached to within a
short distance of the "Pedernales"
and "Oranjestad" when the torpedo-
ing began, and somehow was over-
looked by the submarine as it ran
for the nearest Venezuelan shore-
line.)
Men struggled for their lives in the
fiery water beyond the reef. Ashore,
Continued on Page 6

Steel is twisted like paper in a cargo tank of the Staal doblt mescos cu papel riba e tanker
"Arkansas", (left) which was hit by a torpedo while "Arkansas", (robez) cu a worde rakA pa un torpedo
tied up at the Eagle refinery's docks at Oranjestad na waf di Eagle na Oranjestad. e anochi di ataque.
the night of the attack. The ship was gas free, so it E vapor no tabatin gas aden, asina ta cu el a sufri
sustained only the explosion damage of the torpedo solamente perhuicio di e explosl6n di a torpedo mes,
itself, but it had been scheduled to load gasoline pero e tabata pa carga gasoline net 30 minuut des-
some 30 minutes after the torpedo hit. The picture pues cu e torpedo a dale. E portret ta sakl na
was taken at Lago's Shipyard, which made temporary Shipyard di Lago cu a hacl reparacionnan temporarlo
repairs so the ship could proceed to the United pa e vapor por a sigul pa Merca pa nan drech6 ....
States for repairs..... The ugly monster below, E monstrue feroz aki bao, cu ta word inspectA pa
a German torpedo being Inspected by a Dutch and soldaatnan Holandes y Americano, ta un torpedo
an American soldier, was on the beach at Eagle the Aleman cu tabata riba beach na Eagle e mainta
morning after the attack. (It was believed to have despues dl e ataque. (Nan ta supone cu el a hera
missed the "Arkansas"). The following day It "Arkansas".) E siguiente dia ora cu un grupe dl
exploded while a group of ordnance men were trying soldaatnan tabata trata dl desarmi, explosl6n dl e
to dismantle It, killing four. torpedo a causa cuater morto.

NOVEMBER 8 194*

ARUBA ES

NOVEMBER ,. 1X46 ARUBA RSSO NEWS

Graphic reports of the February
16 attacks were given to the
Esso News by survivors during
the next few days. Some of these,
in abridged form:

Herbert McCall, Master, "Pedernales"
Awakened at 1:30 a.m. by dull
report and a blinding sheet of flame
on starboard under bridge. His bed-
room immediately ablaze. Out on
deck, he saw incendiary shell burst
starboard aft. Vessel's back broken
forward of mainmast. Port lifeboat
was lowered, but at uneven keel, lost
the oars. The five men forward were
in the boat; they broke up bottom
boards for paddles, but drifted sea-
ward. At 6:30 a.m. they were picked
up by a fishing boat, landed at
Oranjestad. Chief Steward had died
in boat, third engineer on arrival
at San Pedro Hospital, both of burns.
Eight were lost, eighteen survived.

Herbert Morgan, Master,
"Oranjestad"
Awakened by second officer re-
porting fire on the nearby "Peder-
nales". Gave orders to prepare to
weigh anchor. Reached lower bridge
when blinded by torpedo flash. Ship
listed immediately, back broken, and
burst into flames fore and aft. Re-
trieved lifebelt from cabin, went to
starboard side, met by flames; cros-
sing the ship he fell hard enough to
fracture his ribs, and slid back to
starboard, stopping against deck
pipeline. Made his way to the bow
with three mates. They were there
nearly an hour, waving clothing in
hopes of signalling a launch. When
the bow settled they were washed off
by the sea. All had lifebelts except
second officer, who was lost. Captain
Morgan was in the water for an hour,
floating through all the "Pedernales"
oil before being picked up by Dutch
patrol boat west of harbor entrance.
Fifteen were lost, ten survived.

Sydney Jones, Master, "San Nicolas"
Was awakened at 3:30 a.m., saw
mass of flames three miles away.
Acting on standing orders, second
officer had already started Ultimate
Full Speed away from fire. At 4:00
a.m. hit by torpedo in engine-room,
ship listed quickly but no fire. Three
men in engine-room were killed. At
4:15 torpedoed again in engine-room;
stern was settling. Heavy seas
smashed stern lifeboat, Captain and
several others thrown clear. Three
oars supported six men, all in life-
belts except Chief Officer Kane. At
daybreak they could see the ship
standing vertically, stern on the bot-
tom. A searching ship and an Army
plane missed them. Later they clung
to remains of the lifeboat, and saw a
capsized surfboat holding four men,
including Chief Engineer Brink-
worth. Kane, nearly exhausted, rest-
ed on the lifeboat's airtank. When
the Shell tanker "Ramona" found
them, Kane was lost when the air-
tank turned over in the ship's wash.
Shortly before this, Brinkworth had
had a line from the "Ramona" in his
grasp, but not enough strength to
hold it, and was lost.
Seven were lost, eighteen survived.

James Young, Third Engineer,
Tia Juana"
,Struck amidships, the "Tia Juana"
flamed immediately, and started to
list, but continued forward. Young,
acting on second engineer's orders,
went down into engine-room to stop
the ship (to prevent spreading its
burning oil over a wide area). While
he was below decks the ship heeled
over on its side, and he got out only
with the greatest difficulty, after in-
juring his back and leg. Burning oil
was spreading around the ship, and
he jumped in and paddled some
distance away. He was unable to
swim but the lifebelt supported him
until he was picked up the next after-
noon and taken into Maracaibo. He
was one of only nine survivors;
seventeen were lost.

.~- .- -

Above, the "Pedernales". burned and broken from a torpedo hit amidships, lies anchored off Palm
Beach, where it was towed after the february 16 attack. After long weeks of work, Shipyard
employees were able to cut it completely in two, and the bow and stern were towed separately
back to San Nicolas. The bow half is shown at right after the return trip. Below, the two halves
are on the Drydock together, ready to be joined after the last section of bottom is cut off of the
stern portion. At bottom of page, the now stubby ship, with 124 feet missing in the midsection,
sails for the States, where it was again cut in half and rebuilt.

Cont. from Page 4
only a few hundred yards away, there
was little panic as the Lago area was
shelled briefly; first reactions were the
excitement common to human nature
in the presence of a large fire, quickly
giving away to horror as the tragic
consequences were realized. Watchers
could see men jumping from the burn-
ing ships into the burning sea.

What those on shore did not know,
fortunately, was that there was a ship
in the harbor with 3,000 tons of TNT
on board, enough to blow half of Aruba
flat if it exploded. The submarine com-
mander probably never knew what a
choice target he missed in deciding to
fire his first torpedoes at 1:30 a.m.
instead of a little later. For it was by
almost sheer coincidence that the muni-
tions ship had not sailed shortly after
midnight, and if it had been torpedoed
anywhere within several miles of Aru-
ba the concussion of 3,000 tons of TNT
exploding would have had terrible
effects here.
The ship was delayed, however, by
what was reported to be the crew's
wanting coffee before they sailed. With
this settled and the pilot on board, the
ship (SS "Henry Gibbons") was pulled
away from the dock shortly after one
o'clock, and was ready to sail out of
the harbor just as the "Pedernales"
went up in flames. The captain of the
"Gibbons" wanted to go ahead and sail,
but the pilot refused to take the ship
out to almost certain disaster, so it was
brought back to the dock and tied up
again.
After redocking the TNT, Captain
John Fernando took the tug "Standard"
(here from Maracaibo substituting
while the "Delaplaine" was on drydock)
outside the harbor to search for sur-
vivors. It was almost impossible to see
or hear men in the windy darkness, and
the tug found only three. While out
they tied up to the bow of the "Peder-
nales", up wind from the flames, but
could find no one there.
Things were hectic in the harbor
area, but rapidly coming under control,
even though some Marine men who had
emergency work to do were unable to
talk their way past the new and too-
efficient American soldiers who were
guarding the refinery gates. One man
who did get through was General Ma-
nager L. G. Smith, who, learning that
there was no way to switch off the
row of lights along the boardwalk that
runs from the Main Dock to the Lake
Tanker Dock, was going along throw-

ing rocks at them until all were extin-
guished.

In the Colony, men and women mov-
ed in restless little groups, examining
each wild rumor as it came along.
Army Air Forces planes droned over-
head. Hours later, as the fires beyond
the reef flickered out and the ambulance
made steady trips to the Hospital with
survivors, the Colony settled down into
the total blackout of war. The area
nearest the tankfarm had been evacuat-
ed, with some residents bedded down in
the Community Church, and others
moved in with friends farther away
from the millions of barrels of oil and
gasoline in storage. (In the first exci-
tement of the shelling, some had wanted
to take refuge in the caves on the north
side of the island, but so far as is
known no one did.)

Out at sea, however, the night and
the tragedy were not yet finished. Two
hours after the first attack here, the
"Tia Juana" and then the "San Nicolas"
were torpedoed and sunk, with heavy
losses of life.
Just after dawn the "Yamanota"
came within sight of the "San Nicolas"
bow sticking up out of the water. Its
crew fished Evertz, Tang Koon San,
Sheffield, Spanner, and Martes out of
the water, then zigzagged full speed for
the Venezuelan shore. They could see a
burning vessel some miles away (this
was the Gulf tanker "Monagas", whose
burned-out hulk still rests on the Vene-
zuelan coast), but they didn't investi-
gate because the Shell tanker "Ramo-
na" was cruising nearby for survivors.
During the night the Oranjestad
cable stations had been closed, but early
in the morning a cable finally got
through to Maracaibo to stop the mor-
ning convoy of lakers. It was too late,
however, and a number of ships had
already sailed, with arrival here sche-
duled sometime after darkness again
gave the submarines good hunting. An
airplane was quickly commandeered by
the Maracaibo marine people, who set
out to head off the ships and shoo them
back into the safety of the Lake. The
plan seemed a failure, though, because
no matter how frantically the men in
the low-circling airplane made motions
back toward Maracaibo, the men on the
ships simply thought they were waving
goodbye, and waved back. Finally those
in the plane hit on the idea of dropping
weighted messages on the ships' decks,
and this worked. By the time the first
Continued on page 8

Captain Chandler of the "Yamanota", whose
ship picked up survivor after the February 1.6
1942 attack, relates his experiences to a group
of United States newspaper men next day.

The "Punta Gorda", later lost in a tragic blackout col-
lision with the "Ampetco", had a first mild taste of war in
late '39, shortly after hostilities broke out. One night
while it was bound for Curacao, a shot came out of the
darkness across its bow. With such a thing unheard-of in
the peaceful Caribbean, it continued on its way, but a
moment later another shell ripped across its bows. This
time, fearing a German raider, it stopped, and a boarding
party scrambled up on the "Punta Gorda" deck. It turned
out to be only a British patrol boat which, unable to enter
neutral harbors itself, wanted its mail dropped off in
Curacao.

The same sort of coincidence that saved the ship with
3,000 tons of TNT aboard (see page 6) worked in reverse
to sink the "Oranjestad". Just before midnight of February
15, the "Oranjestad" asked by blinker-light when it would
move from its anchorage into the harbor. The ship dis-
patcher blinked back that they would dock at 2 a.m. The
dispatcher was wrong-at 2 a.m. the ship was afire, and
30 minutes later went to its final anchorage on the bottom.

Tom Potts, first officer of the "Oranjestad", had often
argued with the marine engineering staff ashore when his
ship was about to go on the drydock. Sometimes his
requests for this or that item of repair work would be
turned down, and he would argue about it and sometimes
get to feeling that repair lists were a nuisance anyway. At
3 a.m. of February 16 he was bobbing around in a lifebelt
when the tug "Standard" pulled up next to him and hauled
him aboard. And Captain Fernando swears that Potts' first
words as his oil-drenched figure was pulled over the rail
were: "Well, there'll be no more drydock repair lists on
her."

Ceremony is something you don't stand on in emergen-
cies. While Mrs. W. L. Thomas and Mrs. J. McNab watched
the flames at sea from the cliff's edge in front of their
bungalows, they heard a call from the bottom of the cliff.
It was a survivor from the "Oranjestad"s" crew. Though
injured, he had swum to the reef and then across the
lagoon, and now he was anxious to get out of the water.
The trouble was, he'd left the "Oranjestad" in too much
of a hurry to salvage his pants.
It was no time for ceremony; the women summoned him
up the cliff, gave him something to cover himself with, and
called for a car to take him to the Hospital.

Soldiers not only sing old songs, they make up new ones,
and soldiers here were no exception. The Schutters (con-
scripts of Netherlands nationality at Sabaneta) had man)
Papiamento songs. The following stanza is an approximate
translation from one of the most popular:
I asked Dalia how things were at home
And Dalia answered me sadly;
Mamma spanks me, Papa wants to kill me -
My body in a coffin, I'll still want a Schutter.
Schutters don't care if Mamma doesn't want,
If Mamma doesn't want, tell Mamma just skip is.
Civilian Casanovas found that the mobilized Casanovas
were gaining too much popularity, and in competing made
the following song, about the Fl. 4.20 per week salary
earned by the Schutters.

Four and twenty can't buy a refrigerator,
Four and twenty can't buy a good dress,
Four and twenty can't buy a gas stove,
Four and twenty doesn't reach to pay the rent.
If Mamma doesn't want, then Mama is just right:
If Mamma doesn't want, then Mamma judged well.

Jan Vlijt was a popular singer in the Schutters' band.
The success of many parties, in clubs as well as homes,
was owed to the good music played by the Schutters.

(In the Papinamnto version, at the bottom of the ,)age. the band
had so much pep that "they could make all the dead people in the
cemetery get up anl dance", a lhely description of lively music.)

Within a few. days after the submarine attack, emergency first aid squads had been organized
ard trained by tha Safety Division. They were ready to go on short notice to any location
and do rescue and first aid work under blackout conditions. One of these groups is shown
'rehearsing. Six of the men are still here. The patientnt Is Mark Taylor of Safety. Working
on his head are John Opdyke of T.S.D. and Ellie Wilkins of Instrument. Bill Hughes of Instru-
ment is in the background. Splinting a leg are Robert Vint of the Clubs (who later served a
hitch in the U. S. Marines), and Bastiaan Meuldijk of M. & C. Standing in the foreground are
Elmer Marx, now gone, and Al Donaghy, later a Navy flier and now with Creole in Caracas.
Algun dia despues di e ataque di submarine, escuadranan di emergencia di first aid a words
organizA y nan tabata getrain pa Division di Segurldad. Nan master tabata cla pa hal cualkier
lugar asina cu nan hays orde pa salba y duna first t aid" bao di condicionnan di black-out.
E portret ta mustra un di e gruponan practicando.

A part of the wartime scene was the billboards with morale slogans in three languages, prepared
by the Training Division. They were placed both in the plant and in town and ,.cunucu" locations.

- a-

T 1 .

I

NOVEMBER s, 194S

THE WAR YEARS
Continued from page 6
one or two ships had turned and re-
treated full speed for the Lake, the rest
of the convoy got the idea and they all
scurried for safety.
That night San Nicolas harbor look-
ed like the inside of a sardine can.
Except for the Army's TNT ship
nothing sailed, and all the ships in the
area were ducking into harbors before
nightfall until the submarine situation
eased off a little and convoy systems
could be organized. The number of
lake tankers and ocean tankers that
could be packed into the harbor's small
area when raiders lurked outside was
amazing.
The day had been a tense one, with
a feeling that the little island was
under siege; the fact that the besiegers
were invisible and struck without the
warning that bombing planes must al-
ways give added an extra chill to the
coming of night.
Fishing boats had brought in some
survivors during the morning, and
cables from Maracaibo and Curagao
had revealed the names of a few more
who had been landed there. The Hospi-
tal staff had worked endless hours
cleaning oil from those who were res-
cued, and treating burns. Hospital beds
held 27 injured tankermen, and 25
others had been treated for minor in-
juries or burns but not hospitalized. A
number of others were at San Pedro
Hospital in Oranjestad.
The results of the shelling had been
checked: a tank had been hit but not
punctured, and a police bungalow north
of the lower tank farm had taken a hit.
(It was said that a shell had exploded
as it came through the roof and had
literally showered the bed of a sleeping
woman and child with shrapnel, mira-
culously without touching either of
them.)
Before sundown the Army had haul-
ed big guns into the sand dunes between
the big and little lagoons, below the
harbor, and on the north shore; huge
searchlights were everywhere, and an
anti-aircraft battery went in between
the spheroids and the Hospital. Watch-
ing these preparations, Colony resi-
dents began to feel as if they were in-
side a fort one without walls. The
almost constant drone of bombing pla-
nes going out on search missions
sounded reassuring in daylight but not
much so at night.
Most of the plant was shut down un-
till light-shields could be rigged up for
the furnaces. (All the sheet-iron roofs
of the Pressure Stills later went for
this job.) A practise blackout had been
scheduled for February 17, but the
blackout that began a half hour after
sundown February 16 was no practise
it was real, it was solid, and it was
permanent.
Few people had prepared ventilating
blinds of any sort. and most simply
closed the louvres up tight, drew cur-
tains across and dimmed the lights be-
sides, and sweltered in the heat. Hastily
organized teams of blackout wardens,
destined to police the Colony and Lago
Heights for many months, were quick
to point out any carelessness.
Most residents near the spheroid field
had again gone to spend the night
with friends farther away from the
plant and tank farm. Dozens of fami-
lies, especially those with small chil-
dren, slept with wraps and blankets
handy in case the submarines took a
second crack at us and a quick evacua-
tion was called for.
And then nothing happened! Most
people rose next morning (Tuesday,
February 17) with mixed feelings of
relief that the night was over, and
sheepishness at being so worried.
That night had been quiet, and so
was the next. The one after that
(February 18) started out well enough,
but ended with a bang at 5:30 a.m. on
the 19th, when even heavy sleepers
were awakened by tremendous explo-
sions off the east end of the island
(light sleepers practically picked them-
selves up off the floor). Then there
was the whisper of big shells passing
over the Colony.
Daylight soon revealed the damage,
which was much worse on the residents'

Bulletins changed daily on big blackboards at the Commissary and Mail
Gate helped keep false rumors from spreading by giving the correct news when-
ever possible. As a memory-jogger, a number of these bulletins are printed
below:

"It is authoritatively reported that in Tuesday's action off shore two
submarines were destroyed".
"Failure to half-staff the flags is not disrespect or oversight; such
practise is not followed during war-time".
"Blasting will take place in the lighthouse area and other Colony
locations starting today (2:20). Do not confuse this blasting with enemy
action". (The blasting was for gun emplacements for the 155 mm. Long
Toms and other coast artillery.)
"The 'F.H. Bedford' is now at dock unloading additional supplies, but
Commissary purchases of certain limited items will still be restricted".
"The location of the 'C.O. Stillman' is known. She is still safe and
will proceed to Aruba as soon as circumstances warrant".
"The early morning shooting today (Thursday) was not caused by
enemy action".
This bare announcement, which was all the military authorities would permit Management
to say, met various degrees of resentment in the Colony. After much negotiation, the Company
was allowed to print the following, which cooled the tempers back to normal:
"Military communique issued by the General Military at Curagao
states: There has been no attack on the Lago Concession at Aruba on
Feb. 19 at 5:30 a.m.; the shell splinters that were found originated from
our own light shells (star shells) fired to illuminate the sea".
"The military authorities have requested civilians to stay away from
all army observation, searchlight, and gun locations, after sundown".
"Advice has been received (p.m. 3:10) indicating that the 'Esso
Bolivar' has run into trouble near Cuba en route to Aruba. Condition of
ship and cargo unknown but this vessel will probably be out of Aruba
service for an indefinite period".

Salvage work on the wrecked "Pedernales" (see page 5)
was held up by a freakish situation. The center deck portion
of the ship was submerged, and when Shipyard employees
were ready to start their cutting job, someone suddenly
noticed an unexploded aerial bomb lying on the deck six
or eight feet under water.
It is a well-known fact that submarines don't drop bombs,
and no one had heard of any enemy planes being over the
island the night the "Pedernales" had burned. Still, you
don't fool around with an unexploded bomb, so work was
stopped while the mystery was unravelled.
It finally turned out that the Army Air Forces had used
the hulk as a handy target for bombing practise, and that
the bomb was a harmless imitation filled with sand. The
salvage work went ahead from there.

state of mind than it was on the places
hit. One shell casing six inches in dia-
meter and eighteen inches long had pas-
sed completely through the Esso Club
library, knocking over a file cabinet
and a counter on the way, and litter-
ing half the Club with splintered wood.
(A soldier was later heard to remark
"Thank goodness (it wasn't the bar".)
Tex Schelfhorst, living in Bachelor
Quarters No. 6, had taken a near miss:
a similar shell had gone through his
door jamb, passed within inches of his
feet as he lay sleeping, then went out
through the floor. It ricocheted off the
coral, went through the wall of a B.Q.
garage, and finally stopped against the
engine of a car belonging to Carl John-
son. (Carl at that moment was a pas-
senger on the missing "C.O. Stillman",
which was playing hide-and-seek with
submarines somewhere along the East
Coast). A third shell bounced harm-
lessly off a road.
Besides excitement, the shells stirred
up some mystery. They were merely
big hollow tubes open at one end, with
walls over a half inch thick, and looked

more like a section of pipe than an
artillery shell. Also, they were empty,
yet had not exploded. They had done
their damage only by the smashing
blow of their 25 or 30 pound weight.
Unfortunately, for security reasons
the U.S. Navy at first forbid any offi-

cial release of the true story; it could
only be said that the shelling was not
enemy action. However, the rumor was
out that the shells were from U.S. war-
ships, and there were many thoughtless
complaints about poor shooting or
careless target practise. To people
whose closest contact with the grim
realities of war had been the news-
reels, nervousness ("the jitters") was
natural.
Several days later the true story was
released (see bulletins above) and
cooler heads realized that the destroy-
ers protecting our coast and shipping
were fighting a deadly enemy, and if
they needed quick light on a suspected
submarine they could not be too parti-
cular where the flare shells' casings
landed.
TO BE CONTINUED